Chapter 25 - Investigating the Competition

I found the Dungeon Delve tablets exceptionally useful. Even if our opponents changed up their defenses a little bit, knowing what sort of staff they had on hand, and who the floor bosses were, was exceptionally useful. At least I thought so, some people disagreed.

“I know you enjoyed yourself when we played yesterday,” Kass said, slouching in a comfortable chair across from me, “but don’t you think you’re going a little overboard?”

“If this information is as accurate as you claim, then it’ll give me insight into our opponents,” I replied, not looking up from the tablet I was studying. Since I wasn’t allowed to take the tablets out of the games room, the two of us were camped out there, drawing strange looks from the other staff using the facility.

“Why am I even here anyways?” Kass complained.

“Because you promised to help, and the best thing you can do is keep me from getting hyper focused on my note taking, like I normally do. They’re deciding the initial confrontation matches today, and even streaming the process. I don’t want to miss the broadcast.”

Kass scoffed, “Even if you missed the broadcast, you’d have all the information in your hands within the hour. You just hate the idea that you might waste that tiny bit of time investigating the wrong dungeon.” She sighed, “I know it’s important, but you need to learn to relax, just a little bit.” While she was speaking she reached down, and gave George some scratches. The huge arachnid had been camped out right next to her chair all morning, because with four arms, Kass was capable of giving double the scritches of other people. The big old suckup loved that. “Speaking of which, the broadcast should start pretty soon.”

My head shot up, and my eyes shot to the huge grandfather clock in the corner of the room. It was indeed just about time for the broadcast. I scooped up the pile of Dungeon Delve tablets into my arms, teetering at the weight, rushing to get them back into the shelves as quickly as possible. I probably would have dropped them if Kass hadn’t intercepted me, and taken half of the pile. “We still have a few minutes before it starts, there’s no point in rushing here,” she said, shooting me a disapproving look.

She was right, of course, so I didn’t argue. Instead I just concentrated on putting everything away as neatly as possible. By the time I finished Kass had finished her half of the job, collected my tablet, and roused George. I rushed to catch up with her. We still had a few minutes, but I didn’t want to take any chances. Kass just passed me my tablet, then opened the doors, letting me lead the way.

Since everyone was excited about the league, and eager to find out who our first opponent would be, several lounges had been pre-booked to display the broadcast for the staff. I slipped into the closest room, eager for the selection to start. There were already half a dozen people inside when we arrived, watching the pre-selection show. Thankfully there were a couple seats left at the back. I’m sure someone would have given up their seat at the front, but I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it, so I just laid my tablet down on my lap and waited for the commentary to end, and the selection to begin.

The staff weren’t the only ones excited for the confrontation league to start, ever since it had been announced there had been massive interest from the public. As a result, someone in charge decided to make the whole match selection process into a real spectacle, with commentators and analysts. I didn’t really care about that part, I just wanted to know the matchups.

It didn’t take long until the celebrities, who I didn’t recognize, and commentators left the screen, and a pair of women that I DID recognize appeared; If only because of the Dungeon Delve game the night before. The Twin Queens, Alyssa and Maril, joint dungeon masters of the Elder Woods. The pair stepped onto the setup set, wearing elegant evening dresses, one in white and the other in black. “We are here to announce the initial matchups of the confrontation league,” Alyssa announced to the camera, with a smile.

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

“The process of drawing lots was done in the presence of six different dungeon masters, to ensure fairness. For those not aware, there are twenty professional dungeons participating in the league, and the initial matchups were selected at random. We hope you’re looking forward to these matches as much as we are.” Maril took an envelope from someone just off screen and handed it to her sister. “Well, without further ado…”

In a single motion Alyssa popped open the envelope and started reading off the results. “The Northern Bastian will face The Great Roost, The Wailing Manor versus The Dread Isles…” I quickly jotted down each matchup, barely paying attention, until I heard something I didn’t expect. “The Arachne Depths against The Elder Woods.” I nearly dropped my tablet.

“Isn’t the Arachne Depths…” Kass started asking, but when she glanced in my direction she stopped. I felt a little ill, and must have looked like it too.

“My family’s dungeon, yeah. It is. I had no idea they were involved,” I replied. George smushed his face into my side, trying to cheer me up. I ran my fingers through his rough hair, rubbing his tough carapace.

“Are you going to be ok?” she asked, concerned.

“Fine. I knew I’d have to face my family one of these days, I just didn’t expect it would be in a dungeon versus dungeon match. We’re not facing them right away, so I have time to prepare myself.” I looked down at my tablet, the announcement had ended, but I had only managed to record seven of the ten matches. I held it up so Kass could see it. “You wouldn’t have happened to catch those last three matches, would you?” I asked, sheepishly.

She bonked me on the head, “You’re allowed to be upset you know. You don’t have to deal with that right now.”

“I know,” I replied quietly, “but it distracts my brain and gives me time to work through everything.”

Kass frowned. “Well, I can’t say I fully understand, but if that’s what you need…” She stood up, and pulled me to my feet, then started forcibly pushing me out of the room.

“What’s going on? Where are we going?”

“Back to the games room. If you need a distraction you might as well dig back into ‘The Dread Isles’, our first opponent. If you don’t, you’ll be kicking yourself later.”

“No I won’t,” I replied, a little too quickly.

Kass smiled, no longer pushing me, but gently directing me with a single hand on my back. “Yes you will. Denying it won’t do you any good.” She pushed open the door to the games room, and directed me right back to the table we’d been sitting at not even half an hour earlier. She slithered over to the shelf, pulled a tablet off, and handed it to me.

“There, now do your research. Figure out how we should adjust our defenses, and where we should strike. Once you feel better, we can discuss everything.” She settled into a chair nearby and immediately started looking through some random tablet she’d pulled off the shelf.

I didn’t know what to say, so I just stared down at the tablet for a bit, looking at it but not reading what was on the screen. After a minute or so, I felt something rub up against my leg. Looking down, I found George, carrying a blanket in his mouth. “Where did you get that, you rascal?” I asked, quietly. He didn’t reply, instead he spat the blanket on my lap then settled as close to my chair as he could.

I glanced from George to Kass, a small smile on my face. Sure, I might have to deal with my family soon, but I no longer had to deal with them on a daily basis. Here in the Wailing Manor I had friends that actually cared, and looked out for me, which was a lot more than I could say for my former home. I wasn’t looking forward to seeing my family again, but perhaps it wouldn’t be as bad as I feared, as long as I had a little support from my friends.